by Cindy Dees
* * *
Raina fingered the letter in her pocket as she hurried toward the Mage’s Guild. A late-winter snowstorm had blown in overnight, and it howled around her this morning, flinging sharp crystals of snow against what little exposed skin she had, bundled up as she was against the cold.
The guard on duty at the Mage’s Guild recognized her and let down the wizard’s lock before she reached the door. She blew into the main foyer on a frigid gust, surprised as always by its formality and opulence in comparison to the humble comforts of the Heart building.
“What business brings you to our doorstep this blustery day, Emissary?” a Celestial Order of the Dragon knight asked her courteously.
“Greetings, Sir Bruin. I believe the guildmaster is expecting me.”
“I will announce you. Would you like to step into the salon and take a cup of hot tea while you wait?”
“That would be lovely.” It had been a long time since she’d taken tea like a civilized person or sat in a formal salon, no less. Even her mother in Tyrel had not had such a space.
Her tea had barely cooled to a sippable temperature before Aurelius himself swept into the salon.
“Emissary. You do us great honor by gracing our halls with your lovely presence.”
She smiled wryly. “Your halls are plenty lovely all by themselves.”
Aurelius’s eyes twinkled. He murmured under his breath as he escorted her upstairs to his private office, “One must put on a good show if one wishes to be taken at face value.”
He escorted her into his office and activated a wizard’s lock upon the space as she took a seat in front of his desk. She commented, “I sincerely doubt anyone who knows you would make the mistake of taking you at face value, Guildmaster.”
“Too bad. The more superficial I seem, the less people really look at me.”
“Like all members of your race, you are so dazzling to behold I suspect most do not see beyond that.”
“One can hope.” Abruptly dropping all pretense of formality, he said, “You sent me a note that we needed to have our meeting right away. What has changed?”
“I need to retrieve a certain item I left in your care some time ago.”
“Indeed? You want Gawaine’s crown back? Do you have reason to believe you will need it sooner than we anticipated?”
She twirled the unicorn ivory ring upon the middle finger of her right hand. “You’re going to think me mad for saying this, but I think the crown is calling to me. Or rather, it’s calling to this ring.”
Aurelius stared at the intricately carved band that had magically shrunk to fit her finger exactly when she’d first put it on. “Do tell.”
“I keep dreaming about the crown. And when I wake up in the morning, I have this overwhelming urge to come to you and get it.”
“May I take a look at the ring?” he asked.
“It won’t come off my finger, but you may certainly examine it.”
“Do you mean that it fits too closely to come off easily or that it will not come off at all, in the same way Will’s disk of Bloodroot’s heartwood will not come off his chest?”
“Neither. This ring has definitely not grown onto my finger the same way Will’s disk grew onto him. But no matter what actions we take in the Heart, we cannot get this ring to let go of my finger. It … clasps … my finger and refuses to let go.”
Aurelius touched the ring with his fingertips and murmured a series of spells that would let him learn more about the ring. Eventually, he sat back. “Well, it seems to like being where it is.”
“You say that as if it’s sentient,” she blurted.
“It is, after a fashion. A person could not have an intelligent conversation with it, but it has a thread of consciousness running through it, and it has definite opinions. I believe it experiences basic emotions.”
She frowned, trying to understand. “Like a shard of a spirit? A piece of some greater awareness, perhaps?”
“That is as good a description as any,” Aurelius allowed. He unlocked a drawer in his desk and reached inside. “Mayhap a small experiment is in order.”
“What would that be?”
“I wonder what will happen if we put Gawaine’s crown and his signet ring together.”
Raina took the green garland with its perpetually living, gold-edged leaves. The gold filigree woven in among the living greens was warm in her hand. A few of the leaves brushed against the ring on her finger, and she cried out in surprise.
“Are you all right?” Aurelius asked quickly.
“I’m fine. It’s just that they”—she searched for a word—“recognized each other. It was like the burst of excitement two great friends might feel upon seeing each other after a long separation.”
“Interesting.”
She stroked the delicate leaves of the crown, amazed at the vibrant life coursing through them. It reminded her of Gawaine himself. Given the warmth and energy of his dreaming echo, she had trouble imagining what the real man would be like. Assuming they managed to find his physical body and wake him up one day, of course.
“How soon can you be ready to leave Dupree, Raina? Will your duties as emissary delay you for long?”
She laughed. “They don’t know what to do with my new rank over at the Heart. The high matriarch has been sending me to the hideously boring staff meetings at the governess’s palace that she wishes to avoid.”
He made a sympathetic sound. “I know those meetings all too well.”
“I did get a letter from Lord Goldeneye this morning. It’s a writ of safe passage through Dominion-held lands.”
“Too bad Gawaine is not likely hidden up that way.”
“In your quest with Selea and Leland, did you ever get any sense of where Gawaine’s physical body might be resting?”
“None, but I can tell you powerful forces hide it and hide it well.”
She gulped. “I was afraid you would say that.”
Aurelius was quiet for a minute. Then he announced without warning, “Eben and Rynn were attacked again last night.”
“What?” She rose out of her seat in alarm. “Are they all right?”
Aurelius smiled crookedly. “Oh, they’re just fine. The ruffians who jumped them cannot say the same, apparently.”
She subsided in her seat, deeply worried about how thick and fast the attacks upon them were becoming.
Aurelius was speaking again. “I believe it to be in all your best interests to leave this city immediately. It is a hotbed of Anton’s spies and flunkies.”
“You say that as if it will be better out in the countryside.”
“There is less love for the Empire, and for our former governor, out among the common people.”
“Perhaps,” she said doubtfully.
“Your new rank will be both a boon and a hindrance when you travel henceforth. You may be able to use it to your advantage in public situations, but I fear it will draw a great deal of attention to you and your friends that may not always be friendly.”
“I understand, but I cannot abandon my rank. A rapprochement with the Dominion is more important than my anonymity or my safety.”
Aurelius replied with wry humor, “Ah. Politics has started to affect your choices. You are growing up, child.”
Sometimes she wished the world were not as complicated a place as she was learning it to be. “In answer to your earlier question, I can be ready to leave on but a few hours’ notice. My real problem will be in devising a way to ditch the Royal Order of the Sun.”
“Why ditch them? Why not take one or two of them along? They will make your travels a great deal safer.”
“Perhaps in the settled lands, Royal Order of the Sun colors would ensure us safe passage. But once we cross the Estarran Sea and venture into the west, I do not believe the same could be said of them. If anything, Royal Order of the Sun guardians would draw the ire and ill will of any locals who saw them.”
He shrugged. “So let them take you to the edge
of Estarra, then. Do not turn your back on safe passage through lands thick with Anton Constantine’s people.”
“I imagine he has some sort of bounty out on our heads.”
Aurelius made a face. “The way I hear it, the bounty on Will’s head alone is outrageous enough to cause every adventurer in Haelos to be on the hunt for him.”
“I’m going to be disappointed if there’s not a decent bounty out on me, too.”
“Never fear. There are heavy pouches of gold being offered for all of you.”
Well. Wasn’t that just going to make their lives even more fun than usual. Not only would they have to dodge the forces trying to stop them from waking Gawaine, but they also were going to have to avoid all human contact with any outsiders while doing it, apparently.
Into the wilds it was, then. Now she could only hope that that was where the next piece of Gawaine’s regalia waited to be found.
CHAPTER
9
Number One leaned against a cold boulder, his feet stretched out to the small fire they’d allowed themselves this late-winter night. He and his two companions had found a small shelter, more overhang than cave, actually, but it kept the snow off their backs and protected them from the worst of the wind driving the snow along at a sharp angle.
He’d been sitting watch for a while. Nothing was abroad on a foul night like this, and all was silent around him except for the ominous howl of the wind from time to time.
And yet, he did not hear the shadowy figure as it approached. One second the cloaked figure was not there, and the next, it was. He started to come to his feet, sword lifting, but the figure quickly sank to his or her haunches in front of the fire and pushed the cloak hood back. Female. Young. Jann. He registered peripherally that she was beautiful, and her white skin had pale blue striations upon it that reflected the hue of the snow around them.
He opened his mouth to ask her identity, but she lifted a warning hand at him. Instead, the sound of a musical female voice inserted itself directly into his head. Alarmed, he started to rise again, sword in hand.
“Be at ease, traveler,” the voice said. “I mean you no harm. Sit.”
Number One sank back down onto the cold stone, staring. How did she do that? He had been a practitioner of every conceivable kind of magic over the years, and he’d never seen such a trick.
He stared at her, and she gazed back at him steadily. Her eyes were the deepest pools of black he’d ever seen. The kind of dark a person could lose themselves in, swimming down, down …
The snow turned to fog around him, still cool and moist upon his skin, but abruptly lacking the bite of winter. Through the mist, an indistinct glow, as of moonlight shining down through the fog, illuminated the little cave.
“I know who you are,” the young woman said.
“I am no one. I have no identity for you to know,” he retorted.
“And yet, I know yours. You are—”
“Do not speak it!” He cut her off before she could utter the name he had forsaken long ago. After all, names had power. And true names had even more.
“I need you to do something for me,” she said. “A small favor, really. Nothing difficult.”
His gaze narrowed suspiciously. “I’ve had plenty of dealings with dryads over the years. If you’re one of them in disguise, do not think to ensorcel me. I know your queen, and she would not be pleased.”
The young woman laughed. “I am no dryad, but thank you for the compliment.”
“Then who—”
“As I was saying,” she interrupted, “I need you to do something for me. I need you to give me something that belongs to each of your companions. Something small that they will not even miss. A button off a shirt or a hairpin. And you must get these items without waking up your friends. Can you do that?”
“Of course I can,” he answered scornfully. “But why would I?”
“Because I ask it of you,” the woman responded persuasively.
“Nay. I will no—”
“You will do it.” Her voice took on a note like steel, as hard and unyielding as his sword’s edge.
Something deep within Number One recognized the tone of command. Responded to it automatically. He nodded slowly. “I will do it.”
What was this? Her request was ridiculous. What possible use could she have for a button and a hairpin? He stood up slowly and moved stealthily around the fire to where his two companions slept. After all, she’d said not to wake them. He reached into Number Two’s pack and rummaged around, coming up with a length of hair cord. It was a simple leather strip she used sometimes to bind her hair behind her head.
“Will this do?” he asked his guest quietly.
“Perfect.”
He nodded and moved on to Number Three’s pack. What was something he would not miss? His fingers encountered several half-carved sticks in the bottom of the bag. Number Three was forever whittling on one or another of them to pass the time. He opened his fist and saw a large, curved tooth lying in his fist. Number Three hadn’t carved this one. Perfect. It was the sort of object Number Three didn’t use on a routine basis and wouldn’t be likely to miss immediately. Later, he would likely assume he’d lost it.
Number One made his way back to the fire and the mysterious young woman. “Here.” He held out the items to her. “Do you need something from me, too?” he asked.
Now why had those words come out of his mouth? He had no desire to help this intruder with whatever she was up to.
“No, thanks be. We already have something that once belonged to you. It was one of your most prized possessions, I hear.”
He frowned. He’d lost nothing of great value in a while. Except his home. And his name, of course.
“Will I see you again?” he asked.
“You may hear from me again someday. And you will most certainly hear from my mistress, who is now your mistress, as well.”
Surprise arced through him. “I have no mistress!”
“Ah, but you do.”
He made a sound of disagreement, and she responded gently, “Why else did you give me exactly what I asked for, then? Your will is no longer yours alone to control, my friend. And the sooner you accept that, the easier it will go on you and your friends.”
The young woman rose gracefully to her feet and drew the hood of her cloak over her sable hair and pale face. “Thank you for sharing the warmth of your fire this night. Sweet dreams to you and yours.”
And with that strange blessing, she disappeared into the night as silently as she had appeared. He blinked, amazed at how she’d been there one second and simply been gone the next. When he opened his eyes, the fog was gone, and the snow was back, driven at an angle by a frigid wind that cut through his cloak and chilled him to the bone.
What bizarre dream was that? Had he dozed off for a minute and imagined that strange apparition? He got up, moved quickly around the fire, and stared down in shock. Dainty footprints disturbed the thin blanket of drifted snow. Horrified, he tried to track the prints out of the cave, but as he reached the edge of the overhang, they stopped. Simply stopped. There were no footprints at all in the deeper layer of snow over here. None into the cave. And none out.
What on Urth? Or rather, who on Urth?
He probably ought to wake the others. Tell them about his odd hallucination. Except they would think him touched in the head. And it was a brutally cold night. Both of his companions were hunkered down deep inside their bedrolls and cloaks, with nothing but their noses showing. They’d earned their rest, for they’d been traveling long and hard these many months now.
Let them stay warm in their beds. His dream visitor could wait until the morn in its telling. Although he suspected that with the coming of dawn’s light would come a return of his common sense. By dawn, his vision would no doubt seem too ridiculous even to him to bother mentioning. He and his companions had more important things to think about. Like beating Anton Constantine to the one thing the ex-governor wanted worse t
han life itself.
* * *
Will tugged at his brand-new Mage’s Guild tabard, royal blue with a gold, four-pointed star over his heart and a long comet tail stretching from the start to his right hip. Although he’d technically been an apprentice of the guild for a while, he’d never bothered wearing official colors before. Guild colors got in the way of blending in with regular people and traveling unnoticed and unremembered.
Of course, this garish procession they made now would hardly go unnoticed. Two Royal Order of the Sun knights led the way in their full white-and-red-trimmed, armed and armored glory. Raina paced behind them in her white clothing trimmed in blue. Then there was Eben in the purple and black of the Merchant’s Guild, Rosana in her red-and-white Heart colors, and him in his Mage’s Guild blue. Only Sha’Li and Rynn did not wear guild colors. But one was a black-scaled lizardman girl bristling with weapons all over her person, and the other a tall, spectacularly handsome paxan. They looked like a traveling circus.
Will had not been any more pleased than the others to find out that they were stuck with a Royal Order of the Sun escort as far as the Estarran Sea. Raina had explained that it was a compromise. She would let the order accompany her partway on their journey in return for the knights leaving them once they crossed Estarra into the west. Apparently, the Royal Order of the Sun knights were no happier about the arrangement than Will.
He had to admit, though, they made good time with the knights along. Everyone got out of their way upon the road, and rooms were always available for them at any inn they came across. Food was served hot and ale served cold. Their beds were comfortable and clean, and even fresh baths were forthcoming for them.
The week it took them to trek southwest through Hyland to the southern mouth of the Estarran Sea and the port of Seastar was honestly the most luxury Will had ever experienced in his young life. He supposed he could see how people got used to it, but he would still prefer a warm fire and a hard bedroll on the ground beneath the stars.
